The Cadiz salt flats
Today it may seem strange to us, but salt is the origin of "salary", because it was used to pay the salaries of soldiers and workers. This should give you an idea of the value it acquired in ancient times. It is a natural product par excellence, with a long tradition in the province of Cádiz. In Chiclana, the salt pans of Salinas de Santa María de Jesús are in the heart of a nature reserve, surrounded by estuaries and birds. The old salt company of La Tapa, in El Puerto, is one of the greatest exponents of a heritage that unites human activity, nature and culture.
The traditional salt pans in the Bahía de Cádiz at one time occupied 5,000 hectares and made this area justly famous. Until recently and with the good weather, there were hundreds of mountains of salt on the horizon, and even today there is plenty of activity. This type of economic and cultural exploitation were already established in ancient times as a result of the geographical characteristics and the ideal climate.
In an area with beaches, mudflats, and floodplains that are easily moulded by the hand of man, the weather conditions are ideal for this type of salt production. The process is helped by the great number of hours of sunshine per year, mild temperatures, moderate rainfall and warm east winds which in the summer months dry the land, help the water to evaporate and the salt to then crystallise.
The comprehensive system of pipes, marshes and channels existing in the Bay make it possible for the salt flats to be structured around the tides with two main axes: The San Pedro River and the Sancti Petri Channel. Both are blessed with a great diversity of ecosystems, which are the natural habitat for two highly appreciated groups of fauna. One of these is the birds, with the presence of numerous species that bivouac and breed in the marshes taking advantage of the food and the security of being a protected natural area. The area has numerous trails, some of great beauty if you walk along them at sunset, when you will be able to birds that have flocked together before going to sleep.
The other group of fauna involves fish that enter the channels and estuaries with the tide. From a culinary point of view, they are caught in nets or simply harvested, creating an ethnographic spectacle that culminates with the art of preparing them magnificently for a luxury meal. Fish from the estuary are now highly valued, as are the crustaceans and shellfish that are caught in the same area, all very wonderful!
